My hands tremble violently, my breath comes in ragged gasps,
A crippling terror wraps around me, choking the life from my chest.
I am drowning in fear—will they see me as I am,
Or will they tear me apart, calling me a liar,
Even when my soul is bare, speaking nothing but truth?
What would you do, if you were forced into a battle for justice,
And every single person around you pointed their finger,
Accusing you of being the monster?

I know my heart, I know my soul—I am not the enemy.
I would shatter into a million pieces if I ever caused someone pain,
Even by accident, even by mistake.
I could never, ever bring harm to another,
Not when my conscience screams against it.
I am pleading, praying with every ounce of my being—
It's terrifying, this desperate cry for mercy.

Sometimes, I wish I could forget it all.
I wish for the oblivion of a concussion,
Even though I know it's a wicked thing to wish upon myself.
But maybe, just maybe, in that darkness,
I could be freed from this unbearable weight—
The relentless images, the sounds, the screams that echo in my mind,
The haunting voices that never, ever stop.

I long for the silence to return.
For the nightmares to finally end.
For the suffocating despair to vanish,
So that maybe, just maybe,
I could breathe again.